"Secrets of my Hollywood Life" by Jen Calonita
Blog Post By Natasha S
"Secrets of my Hollywood Life" by Jen Calonita is a book about Kaitlin Burke, a famous actress who has been in the top ten list. She has all the luxuries you can think of. However, the one thing she wants most is to go to school like a normal girl. Her best friend, Liz, goes to a typical high school and when Kaitlin finally convinces her parents and her manager to let her go to school, they make her have a disguise. She changes her name to "Rachel,' puts in different colored contacts, and has a British accent. "The wig fits pretty snugly, which is good..." (Calonita, 33%). This shows how they had to put Kaitlin in a wig in order to disguise her so no one would recognize her. The first day she goes to school, the star lacrosse player, Austin, greets her, but she thinks he is arrogant. When Rachel and Austin study together, they get closer and closer, and "Rachel" starts to like him. When Austin's girlfriend, Lori, has a party and Austin invites "Rachel" to it, Lori spills juice on "Rachel" and so she leaves. Austin and Lori break up that night, but then Austin asks "Rachel" to the dance. She says yes, but her Hollywood co-star, Sky Mackenzie, reveals at the dance that "Rachel" is Kaitlin Burke, Austin is mad at her for lying to him. When she goes to his house later to say sorry and apologize, he turns her down. What will happen to Kaitlin and Austin? Will anyone say anything to Sky? What will happen to the friends Kaitlin made at the high school? Read to find out!
I would rate this book 5/5 because it was intriguing and I couldn't put it down. Kaitlin at school seemed like a real person with problems. It shows how even Hollywood stars can have real life problems too. It was the perfect book to show how a teenage girl star could want just the "simple" life of a high school girl. (Even though Kaitlin figured out that going to high school is NOT simple AT ALL).
The theme of the book is honesty. If Kaitlin was honest to everyone at school about her being Katilin Burke, then she wouldn't have Austin mad at her. On the flip side, if she was honest, everyone would love her but then she wouldn't know her real friends. I believe that Kaitlin made the right decision by keeping her real identity a secret because if she didn't then she might not have met Austin and her other friends at the high school.
The author made the book so that it was intriguing and you could see Kaitlin's thoughts and what she thought about each situation. The author adds the script of the play at the beginning of almost each chapter so that makes you think about how close or contrasting that is to Kaitlin's life.
The author made the book so that it was intriguing and you could see Kaitlin's thoughts and what she thought about each situation. The author adds the script of the play at the beginning of almost each chapter so that makes you think about how close or contrasting that is to Kaitlin's life.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about friends, high school problems, and honesty. This is the first book in the series of about 4-5 books), and so I'll keep you updated about the other books!
